Featured Domains

Why domain investors and Bitcoin click

Despite some massive setbacks, bitcoin is still a hot topic right now.

I think domain investors are drawn to bitcoin at a higher rate than the general population for a handful of reasons. Having talked to several bitcoin owners, I think there are four key reasons for this.

1. You have to learn a little to get into the club. It takes a bit of knowledge and research to start using bitcoin. It’s much like the knowledge you gain from learning about the domain aftermarket, how to evaluate domains, and the expired domain game. Owning bitcoin probably feels a lot like being in a club. The people who get it and the people who don’t.

2. It’s risky but with there’s a chance for outsized returns. Domainers live in a world where a 100x return on an asset within just a few months is not only possible, but happens all the time. Other times they take steep losses. Bitcoins’ ups and downs mirror this.

3. There’s anonymity. – I’m told it takes some work to make bitcoin holdings anonymous, but there’s still the potential. A lot of domainers appreciate anonymity in what they do, what domains they own, and what they do personally.

4. You can get involved from behind your computer in your home. That sounds familiar.

Get over yourself bitcoin bob. . . I wasn’t even talking or referring to your comments. To everyone else calling themselves domain investors. An investor in the traditional sense doesn’t/can’t claim their investments as deductions at tax time . A domain shouldn’t be called an investment imho. In my business it isn’t at all.

It’s also interesting to see which domainers follow bitcoin and which don’t. Personally, I’ve never been the least bit curious about bitcoin. And I don’t say that with any sort of arrogance. It’s just that for me — and, I suspect, for many other domainers too — bitcoins are as remote a topic as corn futures or condominium prices in Dubai. Meanwhile, for other domainers — including smart domainers — bitcoins are part and parcel of what they do with domains.

Maybe this points to some of the diversity in the domainer population. Although we all share an interest in domain names, the motivations behind that interest can turn out to be quite different.